AP Government Court Cases

Marbury v Madison

Core Holding: Established judicial review (courts can declare laws unconstitutional).

Use It In FRQs: Power of the Supreme Court, checks and balances, constitution interpretation

Example FRQ Sentence: In __________________, the Court established judicial review, allowing it to invalidate laws that conflict with the Constitution.

McCulloch v Maryland

Core Holding: Expanded federal power through the Necessary and Proper Clause and denied states the ability to tax federal institutions.

Use It In FRQs: Federalism, implied powers, supremacy Clause

Example FRQ Sentence: ____________ upheld implied powers by ruling that Congress can create a national bank under the Necessary and Proper Clause.

United States v Lopez

Core Holding: Limited Congress’s power under the Commerce Clause.

Use It In FRQs: Limits of federal power, federalism, Commerce Clause

Example FRQ Sentence: In _____________, the Court ruled that carrying a gun in a school zone was not interstate commerce, limiting congressional power.

Engel v Vitale

Core Holding: School-sponsored prayer violates the Establishment Clause.

Use It In FRQs: First Amendment (religion), establishment Clause, civil liberties

Example FRQ Sentence: ____________ held that public schools cannot sponsor prayer, reinforcing the separation of church and state.

Wisconsin v Yoder

Core Holding: Protected religious freedom under the Free Exercise Clause.

Use It In FRQs: Free Exercise Clause, religious liberty vs. government interests

Example FRQ Sentence: In ____________, the Court ruled that compulsory school attendance laws violated Amish religious beliefs.

Tinker v Des Moines

Core Holding: Students have free speech rights unless it disrupts learning.

Use It In FRQs: Symbolic speech, First Amendment, limits of student rights

Example FRQ Sentence: ___________ protected symbolic speech by ruling that students could wear armbands in protest.

New York Times v United States

Core Holding: Protected press from prior restraint.

Use It In FRQs: Freedom of the press, limits of government power, national security vs. liberty

Example FRQ Sentence: In _____________, the Court ruled that the government could not block publication without proof of immediate harm.

Schenck v United States

Core Holding: Speech can be limited if it creates a “clear and present danger.”

Use It In FRQs: Limits on free speech, wartime powers, balancing liberty and security

Example FRQ Sentence: _________________ upheld limits on speech by establishing the “clear and present danger” test.

Gideon v Wainwright

Core Holding: Defendants have the right to an attorney in criminal cases.

Use It In FRQs: Due process, rights of the accused, incorporation

Example FRQ Sentence: In _____________, the Court ruled that states must provide attorneys to defendants who cannot afford one.

McDonald v Chicago

Core Holding: Incorporated the Second Amendment to apply to states.

Use It In FRQs: Selective incorporation, federal vs. state power, gun rights

Example FRQ Sentence: In ____________, the Court applied the Second Amendment to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

Brown v Board of Education

Core Holding: School segregation violates the Equal Protection Clause.

Use It In FRQs: Civil rights, equal protection, role of courts in social change

Example FRQ Sentence: _________________ ruled that segregated schools are inherently unequal, overturning legalized segregation.